by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

With the Feb. 20 NBA trade deadline nearing, count the Golden State Warriors among the long list of teams still looking to improve its roster.

According to a person with knowledge of the Warriors' situation, Golden State is on the lookout for bench help and is hoping to use its trade exceptions as a way to facilitate such a deal that would likely need to involve three teams. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of trade discussions.

The Warriors have two sizable trade exceptions ($9 million and $4 million) that don't expire until next summer, as well as two smaller exceptions (approximately $780,000) that expire on Feb. 17.

Even with the recent trade with the Boston Celtics for backup point guard Jordan Crawford, the Warriors (31-21) still have one of the least productive bench units in the NBA and are well aware that their second unit will need more help for the post-All-Star break playoff push. According to hoopsstats.com, Golden State's second unit is 29th among 30 teams in bench scoring (24.1 points per game).

Traded player exceptions allow teams to acquire players without giving player(s) back in return, and teams looking to shed salary will surely be calling the Warriors soon to explore the many money-saving possibilities on this front. If there is a deal to be done, it's highly unlikely that it would involve the $9 million trade exception because of Golden State's already-steep payroll. The Warriors are approximately $2.5 million under the league's luxury tax threshold and would only consider using the largest of their exceptions for a major impact player.

As for the possibility of a bigger deal being done before the deadline, rival executives told USA TODAY Sports last week that anyone outside of point guard Stephen Curry and center Andrew Bogut is, to varying degrees, up for discussion. That includes second-year small forward Harrison Barnes, the Warriors reserve who is known to have sparked serious interest from a long list of suitors but who is unlikely to be traded unless it was part of a package for a big-name player. Even with Barnes' struggles (he shot 33.7% from the field in January while averaging 6.9 points per game), he still has no shortage of fans within the organization.